Can drying apparatus



sept. 19, 195o w. A. WEBB CAN DRYING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug'. 5, 1947 sept. 19,1950

w. A. WEBB 2,523,080

l CAN DRYING APPARATUS 'Filed Aug. 5, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 47 aaa. 44 4a 8h30 5 3 /6 306 a 4 500'4- 5 5 4 55 55 3lf5.5/ n 5a 6o I v ab I 5.-

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Y 'arf ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1950 w. A. WEBB `CAN DRYING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 5, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FII-:I El /6 WELLS A. WEBB.

INVENTOR MCD/W v ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 149, 1950 Wells AfWelb, San- Jose, Calif., assignor toy Food Machinery and. vChemical |Corporation, aY corporation o f Delaware Application August, 19474, SerialfNo. 766,296

y 84 Claims.

;.The present invention relates to an. apparatus for automatically drying` containers, especially those employed to hold foodproducts and commonly known. as cans.

K Cans of thistype, when` iilled with food products and sealed,` areusually subjected-,to` a sterilization process involving the application of high` temperatures andrequire subsequent cooling with water or othercooling liquids. It is then necessary that the cans be dried to avoid rusting and tol permit labelling3 and. packing thereof without undue delay.` l

It hasheretofore been customary to, subject the moist cans to currents of heated air. However, aside from the considerable expenditure in jected to temperature increases if the iiavor of the products is to be preserved.

` ,One` object of the` .present invention is to provide an improved apparatus'for drying containers.

Another object is; to vprovide an apparatuswhich will speedily dry containers without subjectingthem to an increase in temperature.

It is another object of the invention to furnishan apparatus of the type referred: toV which is of small compass and requires `a minimum in operatingcost; n

Other objects and advantages of the present in-k vention will be apparent `from, the following` description and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 isla side elevation of the can drying apparatus of the present invention.

, Figa 2 is a plan viewof thefront end of the apparatus. I

` Fig. 3- is-across-sectiona-lView of the apparatus `taken along line 3-3' of Fig. 1

Fig.; @iis a longitudinal section of the frontend oithemachine taken along line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

`Fig'..5 is alongitudinal section of the discharge end" ofthe machine.

Referring tov Fig. 1, a procession of cylindrical cans I rolls or slides from an inclined supply chute.:` tI; onto a slanting 'surface I2 formed by an elongated pad of `an absorbent, material` such as. feltsof fury asbestospfelted glass threads, or otherfbrous matter.4 The pad I2l is supportedbyga plurality of transverse bars I3. which are spaced from one another and over each of which isffolded a sheet of material I4 having its opposite ends depending vertically at either side thereof,

sist of materials that have capillary properties such as strips of cloth, wire netting, opposing, sand blasted metal surfaces, etc. A screen 4I5 mayy be@ interposed between the pad I2r and the upper surfaces of the bars; I:3 togive supporttoY pad:A t2 in the intervals` between the individual.- bars.

The pad. I2 is flanked bytwo parallel plates t6,

thel upper ends of which are turned inwardly` and form a pair of depressedy parallel lips I1. upon which are supported the-opposite ends of the transverse bars I3; as may best be seen from. Fig. 3.` Cover plates I8 may be provided to. dependablyfretain the barsY I3, the grid I5, and the pad- I2 in. their proper positions.

rIfhe `plates I6 are held in position by sixpairsof` rearwardly tilted standards I9, as` shown in. Fig..1^. The upper ends of these standardsY pro.- ject-a short distance beyond the planeof1 the capillary pad I-2 (Fig. 3) while their lower ends,- are'secured tothe side wallsV of Ian inclinedtroughor gutter 2,0 extending al1 the way from the supply end-of. the described4 arrangement to the discharge end` thereof and having azdischarge spout 2Iat its lower end (Fig. l). The troughr 20f :rests-4 endless belts 25,,of' canvas or rubber, each trained;

around anupper` and lower drum or pulley 26d and 2Gb, respectively,y and arranged to present.

aparallel run to the inclined surface of the pad la distance above saidy pad corresponding to the diameter of the cans to be dried by thexapparatusA of the present invention. The pulleys 26a. and 2-6b are each mounted upon transverse shafts'2'Ia and 21h, the endsof whichware rotatably support-y edin. pairs of bearings 28a and` 28h mounted inbijackets y29a. and` 23h whichj in turn-r arey bolted to the upper ends ot the standards I9, as may be` seen: from Figs. 1 Iand 3.

, Means are provided, inaccordance with` thel invention to` resil-iently hold the lower runs.y of` the. belts- 25fagainst: the cans rolling down the;l inclined pad I2 underneath; For this purposeA the brackets 29a. atrthe upper end of eachbelty 25 are provided with armsl 30a. extending in the;

direction. of` movement of` the cans (Figs, 1 and 4)-xvvhile1thelbrackets 29hA at the lower end of each belt 25- are provided with forwardlyV extend# ing arms 30h. These arms hold carrier bars iIIa;`

and :3l-b, respectively', which extend transversely across the path of the cans and intermediate ot 3 the .parallel runs of the belts 25 (Figs. 2 and 3), to rigidly support within each of the endess belts 25 an inverted U-bar 32 extending parallel to the longitudinal runs thereof.

The horizontal surface of each U-bar 32 is provided with a plurality of apertures 33 which are slidably engaged by bolts or studs 34. A shield 35 is rigidly attached to the lower ends of the sliding studs 34, as may be seen from'Figs. 3, 4, and 5, and compression springs 36, coiled around studs 34 and disposed between the rigidly mounted U-bar 32 and the upper surface of shield 35, yieldably urge the latter against the lower longitudinal run of the endless belt 25 and thus keep said run in contact with the procession of cans traveling down the inclined upper surface of the capillary pad I2 below. Each of the abovev mentioned apertures 33 may fbe reinforced by a suitable bushing 31 rigidly attached to the upper horizontal surface of the U-bar 32, so as to confine movement of the sliding studs 34 to a lineperpendicular to the plane of U-bar 32.

In'operation each of the belts 25 is moved in counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 1, 4, and so as to aid the cans in their advance down the inclined capillary pad I2, and for this purpose a suitable motor 38 may be provided near the discharge end of the arrangement, as shown in Fig. 1. The drive shaft of this motor carries a sprocket 39 which is operatively connected -by a sprocket chain 40 with another sprocket 4I keyed upon an axially extended end of the last one of the previously described shafts 2lb at the discharge end of the apparatus. The rotation thus transmitted from the motor to the last of the pulleys 2Gb drives the belt 25, trained around said pulley, which in turn will rotate the pulley 26a and the shaft 21a at the upper end of said belt upon which said pulley is keyed. This shaft 21a. is also extended in axial direction to carry a sprocket 42 which is operatively connected by` a short sprocket chain 43 with another sprocket 44 keyed upon the end of the shaft 21h atV the lower end of the second one in the sequence of propeller belts 25. Thus, this second belt will move in counterclockwise direction as soon as m'otor 38 sets the last one of the belts 25 into motion. The described arrangement is repeated between the upper end of the second belt and the lower end of the first belt, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that operation of the motor 38 will simultaneously turn all the belts 2G in counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 1, 4 and 5.

For aiding the cans in their downward travel along the inclined capillary pad I2 I prefer a sequence of separate belts to the use of a single belt extending over the full length of the ar-- rangement because a lbelt in contact with wet cans wil rapi'dly become wet itself and, since it travels faster than the cans, will eventually transfer moisture collected during its initial travel onto the cans further ahead. This would partly defeat the drying effect of the capillary pad and impair the efciency of the apparatus as a whole. By dividing the propeller belt into aplurality of separate belts in the manner illustrated and described the possibility of transferring moisture from newly arriving to more advanced cans is correspondingly reduced.

Means may be 4provided in the form of wiper blades or wiper pads (not shown) located at suitable points of the upper horizontal runs of the belts, to remove the moisture from the belts before they come again into contact with the cans at the upper ends of their operational runs.

In order to protect succeeding belts against moisture that may be hurled from preceding belts as they turn around the pulleys 26h at their lower ends, rectangular baffle plates 45 are interposed between the adjacent ends of the belts, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The bottom edges of these baffle plates are formed into troughs 4B which are drained by two discharge conduits 4l (Figs. 1 and 3) disposed at either side thereof and arranged to empty into the previously described gutter 20 below the absorbent sheets I4.

While the arrangement so far described will dry the cylindrical areas of the cans I0, additional means are provided in accordance with my invention to dry the end walls of the cans as well. For this purpose a platform 48 is mounted above and across the path of the cans at a suitable point longitudinally thereof (Fig. 1') such as by means of legs 49 lbolted to the flanking plates I6 at either side of the pad. Supported upon the platform 48 is a blower 50 of suitable design that may be operated Yby a motor 5I which is likewise supported upon platform 48. The blower 50 delivers blasts of air through a suitable connector tube 52 into a manifold 53 disposed above,` and parallel to, the upper horizontal run of the rst one of the belts 25 and extending in the direction opposite to the direction of movement of the cans I0. The closed end of the manifold 53 is supported upon a bridge 54 which spans the belt 25 and rests upon the previously described arms 30a, of the brackets 29a at the supply end of the apparatus.

The manifold 53 is provided with a plurality of branch pipes 55 arranged in pairs with the pipes of each 'pair branching off horizontally at diametrically opposite points of the manifold. The ends of branch pipes 55 are turned downwardly and connect with hoses 56 of flexible material such las rubber. The initial portions of these hoses are turned outwardly and transversely away from the cans Ill in order that their end portions may be returned at oblique angles relative to the can walls, as shown in Fig. 3. Nozr zles 5l having slotted orifices 58 are fitted into the open ends of the hoses 516 and are :held in their proper positions, with their orifices closely adjacent to the end walls of the cans and somewhat above the level-of the center axes thereof, by supporting arms or brackets 59. These arms rise from guide rails 6i) arranged at either side of the can procession and supported from the upper ends of the previously described standards I9.

In operation the wet cans IIl slide down the inclined supply chute I I with their axes parallel and transverse to the direction of movement and roll onto'the felt pad I2 into the space between the guide rails -I lat either side thereof. Here they are seized by the rst one in the sequence of the belts 25 disposed above the pad. Due to their counterclockwise movement, these belts roll the cans down the inclined pad I2, while maintaining them in close contact with the upper surface thereof, and nally push them onto the discharge slide 6I provided at the end of the installation (Fig. 1). As the cans travel down the pad I2 in the described manner, the pad `will eagerly absorb the moisture clinging to the cylindrical surfaces of the cans. As can after can passes over the pad in continuous procession the pad would normally soon reach a saturation point and no longer be capable of absorbing further moisture from the cans, but the previously described streamers of absorbent material arranged below the pad will constantly drain the pad by capillary accacsozff action inthe m-anner'ios wicks, and the water` dripping from theA ends ofthe:streamers` is,` collected in and'fcarriedavsray` bythe previously de,- seribed'. trough. ori gutter. 20 A at the bottom of' the arrangement.` Aside; from the nature of the ma-y terialfrom Awhiclilsheets I4 are made, their effectiveness in draining the pad I2 is greatly determined by the verticallength of their streamers. I havedoundthat streamers' of a length"` of about 12 inches will yield very satisfactory results, and will dr-aw `waterfrom a limited area of the pad very effectively; "Therefore, by providingan adequate; number of sheets of the type described along the'lower surface of thepadl am able to maintain--the pad in proper condition to dry a continuousprocession,` of cans, rolling downqits upper surface lwithno cost/of operation such as would be required `by a suctiondevice of equal efficiency. l l

. Evidentlythe initial portions of pad IZhave to absorb a greater amount of moisture than subsequent portions thereof, since the cans Will be very wet when they roll from the supply chute l I onto pad I2 but will become progressively dryer, as they travel `down the moisture-absorbing path. I,

per unit length underneath the initial portion of the pad than underneath the mid-portion or the end-portion thereof. In the preferred embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, -the density of the streamers III varies gradually from a region of maximum density at the supply end of the apparatus to a region of minimum density at the discharge end thereof. I have obtained very satisfactory results by making the intervals between successive streamers about half an inch wide at the input portions of my apparatus and increasing these intervals gradually to about two inches at the discharge end thereof. It will be understood, however, that the streamers may also be arranged in a sequence of sections with the streamers in each successive section being spaced greater distances apart.

In order to remove the moisture clinging to the end walls of the cans IIJ, the previously described motor I is started to operate the blower 50. This blower supplies an air blast of moderate pressure, such as from 15` to 20 inches of water, into the manifold 53 where the blast is subdivided into a plurality of individual jets, which reach the end walls of the cans through branch pipes 55, hoses 56, and nozzles 51 lat an oblique angle, pointing in` downward direction, and scatter the droplets clinging to the vertical 1walls of the cans onto the pad I2 underneath as best shown in Fig. 3. In the illustrated embodiment the nozzles 51 are arranged at angles of about 45 degrees relative to the planes of the can ends and while I have found such an angle to prove highly effective, it will be understood that satisfactory results may be obtained by arranging the nozzles at steeper or blunter angles if desired. The pad I 2 will absorb and drain away the moisture received from the ends` of the cans and in turn will be aided in the dissipation of moisture contained therein by the evaporating effects of the currents of air emitted from the nozzles and deflected downwardly along the vertical surfaces of the can ends. This evaporation, though relatively small, has the added advantage of cooling the can procession.

Thus the arrangement of the present invention provides thorough drying of the cylindrical surfaces of a continuous procession of 'containers Without requiring power for the operation of a suction device or fuel for the production of heat to? accelerate evaporation. Furthermore; theapL-f paratus will dry the endl walls l of the cansr witha minimumfexpenditure ofY power, and its method f of operation issuchlthat it lowers, rather than' raises, the temperature of. the' cans processed therein. l

It should further be noted that a single elongatedl blow slit may be provided at either side off'` thecan procession to dry thev end walls thereof;` instead of a plurality of individual blow nozzles as. illustrated. and described'. Also, the number of thebelts'26 may be decreased or increased, to suit particular requirements. l

Whilel have shown andr described a preferred apparatus-for carrying. out my invention, it. will lbe understood thatr said` apparatus is capable of I variation and modification whilev still employing the principles oi my invention. It is to be understood, therefore,.that the scope of the invention shouldbe limited only by thescope and proper'interpretation of the claims appended.` hereto...

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for drying wet cans comprising a relatively thin pad of an absorbent material having an upper and a lower surface, means for rolling said cans yalong said upper surface and in close contact therewith, and a plurality of sheets of an absorbent material arranged closely adjacent to and depending from said lower surface.

2. Apparatus for drying wet cans comprising a pad of absorbent material having a supply end and a discharge end, means for rolling the cans along said pad from said supply end to said discharge end, and a plurality of sheets of an absorbent material depending from points closely adjacent to the lower surface of said pad, the number of said sheets per unit length decreasing in the direction from said supply end to said discharge end.

3. Arrangement according to claim 2 including an inclined drainage trough disposed below said sheets and col-extensive therewith.

4. Apparatus for drying wet cans comprising a pad of an absorbent material having a supply end and a discharge end, means of a capillary nature for draining moisture from said pad, and a sequence of relatively short and longitudinally spaced endless belts having runs extending parallel to said pad a predetermined distance apart `therefrom and arranged to roll said cans in close contact with said pad from the supply end to the discharge endthereof.

5. Apparatus for drying wet cans comprising a pad of an absorbent material having a supply end and a discharge end, means of a capillary nature arranged at the lower surface of said pad to drain moisture therefrom, a plurality of endless belts having runs extending parallel to and 'a distance above said pad and arranged to roll said cans from the supply end to the discharge end thereof, and a baille plate arranged between adjacent ends of each two successive belts.

6, Apparatus for drying wet cans comprising an inclined pad of absorbent material, a plurality l of sheets of absorbent material depending from thehigher to the lower end thereof, a baffle plate arranged above said pad and interposed between the adjacent ends of each two successive belts,I an inclined discharge trough extending below said sheets and longitudinally of saidpad, and transversely extending troughs provided at the lower edges of said baille plates and arranged to discharge into said longitudinal trough.

`'7. Apparatus for drying wet cans comprising an inclined pad of absorbent material of limited vertical depth, a plurality of sheets of absorbent materials depending from points closely adjacent to the underside of said pad, means disposed above said pad for rolling a procession of said cans over the upper surface of and in close contact with said pad from the upper to the lower vend thereof, a blower, a manifold connected to said blower and extending in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of said cans, and branch pipes connected to said manifold and terminating into` nozzles adapted to direct air against the end walls of said can procession.

8. Apparatus for drying wet cans comprising a relatively thin pad of absorbent material having an upper and a lower surface, means for rolling cans along said upper surface in close contact therewith, and a plurality of sheets of an absorbent material arranged closely adjacent to and depending from said lower surface, said sheets being of a Vertical length of the order of 12 inches.

WELLS A. WEBB.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

